Toon boss Alan Pardew admitted on Thursday that Ba would be sold if he did not remove the £7.5million release clause in his contract.

"I like Demba Ba, yes," Wenger said ahead of his team's match against Newcastle. "I don't think [this] is the right place to speak about that, because he plays against us. I wouldn't like to put Newcastle or us or him in an uncomfortable position. If you ask me 'do we sign Demba Ba?' I say no."